Out in the open
by JC HOYT
Summary: It's about time Woody & Jordan got their feelings out in the open.
1. Default Chapter

Jordan watched Woody and Devan talking with an obvious scowl on her face. It wasn't that she didn't like Devan, in fact she liked her a lot, they had become friends in the time that Devan had been at the morgue, which had surprised everyone else because they thought she wouldn't take well to competition, especially with someone so much like herself, hard headed and driven.

Jordan had noticed Woody and Devan talking more frequently recently but why shouldn't they? They worked together just like he and Jordan did, but it made Jordan feel sick to her stomach every time she saw them together.

She didn't even hear Garrett walk up "You know Jordan, green is not your color" he smiled crookedly.

"Very funny" she said rolling her eyes at him, annoyed. She started to walk away, but to get away, she would have to walk right past Woody and Devan which was not something she particularly wanted to do, but she was willing to do it if it would get her away from Garrett's assault.

She tried to hurry past them without being noticed but it was impossible, Woody saw her and spoke up "Hey Jordan, what's the hurry? Got a case?" She didn't bother to stop walking; she barely looked at them as she greeted them with a cold "Detective Hoyt, Dr. Maguire" and continued her path down the hall to her office where she could be in peace, away from all the people who were currently annoying her.

Woody and Devan just watched her walk away with confused looks on their faces. Garrett smiled amicably at them "Don't mind her, she's having a little fit of jealousy" he said directing his comment mostly at Woody.

Jordan found her way into her office and slammed the door behind her and collapsed on the couch and covered her face with her crossed arms, trying to force the image of Woody and Devan together out of her mind.

Garrett intruded her office and sat beside her on the couch "I don't see why you don't just tell him how you feel, you two have been playing this game for way too long" he admonished.

She didn't change her position but simply answered, "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Well Woody does, I told him your attitude stems from this little jealousy fit you're throwing right now, you should expect him in here any minute" he said patting her on the leg.

"Garrett!" she sat up quickly and started to protest but he was already headed out the door, and Devan was headed in.

"Hey" she greeted Jordan.

"Hi" Jordan returned.

"Look I just wanted to make sure you know that me and Woody are just friends, he's a great guy and all and really cute but I know all about you guys' situation, he's off limits" she said holding up her hands in mock surrender. "Besides that, I would never even stand a chance with him, not with the way he looks at you" she said reassuringly.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you out there, I don't know what's wrong with me, I have no claim to Woody but when I see him with someone else, I get a little crazy, are we still cool?"

"Of course" Devan said hugging her, she got up and turned to go "But Jordan, you should really talk to Woody" she said winking at her.

"Yeah yeah, I know" Jordan said.

"Great, I'll send him in" Devan said cheerfully and disappeared before Jordan could protest.

"No....Wait!" Jordan called out to no avail, she was already gone, she'd be back with Woody any minute, she had to think, what was she going to do? What would she say? Was she ready?

"Hey" Woody said from the doorway, interrupting her panic.

She turned quickly, startled by the sound of his voice, her heartbeat quickened; she just looked at him without speaking.

"Devan said you wanted to see me" he said when she didn't answer.

Think! Think! Think! Jordan said to herself in her mind.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier, I already apologized to Devan, I guess I've just got a lot on my mind"

"Me?" he smiled with raised eyebrows.

"I, Uh, I mean..." she stammered.

He smiled and stepped closer to her, and brushed his hand across her cheek tenderly. "I love that I can make you all tongue-tied and nervous"

"Oh yeah? Why is that?" she asked taking a little step back out of his reach.

"Because you've got this whole Janie bad ass persona but I can break through that" she smiled cockily.

She started to protest but he moved in quick and put a finger over her lips to stop her "It's a good thing" he told her.

"Dinner tonight at your place, I'll cook, what time are you off?" he asked.

"Six" she answered.

"I'll be there at 7 then, see you tonight" he said walking out.

"What just happened here?" Jordan questioned out loud.


	2. Pinkie swears and shopping trips

"Are you talking to yourself love? Or are the voices inside your pretty little head speaking to you again?" Nigel said overhearing her as he was passing by outside her office.

"Nigel! Hey! What are you doing for lunch?" she asked.

"I don't have any plans, you want to grab a bite to eat?" he asked.

"Well yeah we could do that, but we also need to go shopping"

"Shopping?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, like for clothes"

"Why the sudden interest in expanding your wardrobe during your lunch break? Have you got a date or something?" he asked, his curiosity now peaked.

"Swear you wont say anything?" she asked seriously.

"Yeah sure"

"No, You have to really swear Nige, I don't want everyone in my business, not yet anyway" she insisted holding out her pinkie, which he promptly took and completed the sacred pinkie swear.

"Okay I swear, now spill, this better be good"

"Woody and I have been a little more than flirty recently, you guys know the whole history of almosts with us but I think I'm ready to give it a shot, I know that seeing him with Devan was making me crazy and nothing was even going on with them" she explained.

"So you two have got a bit of a date this evening do you?" Nigel teased.

"I don't know what it is, he didn't say date, but he is coming over to make me dinner tonight and talk"

"The talk?"

"I don't know, don't freak me out about it though!" she reprimanded, smacking him on the arm.

"Okay, Okay so you want uncle Nigel to come along and help you pick out a hot little number for our dear Woodrow"

"I need a guy's opinion, I have no idea what to wear since I'm not sure if it's even a date, but I don't want to be wearing jeans and a tank top if he thinks it's a date"

"Jordan! What's the matter with you? Since when do you worry about what to wear? Especially with Woody! you guys have been best friends for years"

"But that could all change in one night, with one conversation, Oh my god" she said taking a deep breath and slumping back on the couch, she had just started to get nervous.

"Don't freak out now, there'll be plenty of time for that later, right now we've got to find you an outfit to make Woody drool"

An hour later, Nigel was still sitting in the dressing room as Jordan rejected yet another outfit.

"I don't know why you asked me to come along for my opinion, everything I've picked out, you've shot down, it's all too dressy, not dressy enough, too long, too short, too tight, not tight enough, makes you look fat or is just not right for one reason or another, you're driving me insane!" he grumbled.

She started to respond but her ringing cell phone cut her off, she flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.

"Cavanaugh" she answered irately.

"Whoa there killer, calm down" She immediately recognized his voice.

"Oh hey Woody, what's up?" she said casually.

"I was just calling to see if you had found an excuse to back out of tonight yet, or will it be a last minute work call? Maybe you'll volunteer to go on a pick up?"

"I'm not backing out of anything, unless you keep pissing me off"

"Yeah well I'll believe it when I see it, or I guess that would be when I see you"

"Alright jerky, I gotta go, see ya tonight"

"Cant wait" he smiled into the phone.

Jordan felt the butterflies in her stomach take flight at his last comment, or was that nausea?


	3. Cutting to the chase

Jordan was nervously staring at her reflection in her full-length mirror for what seemed like the millionth time, wondering if she looked okay. She had finally settled on a sheer black tank top, most of her skin visible through the pattern and a pair of low waist jeans, she wanted to look sexy, but not like she was trying to look sexy. She had left her hair down and curly, just the way he liked it. She nearly melted every time he reached out and absentmindedly curled a finger through her hair. What if he did that tonight? She thought to herself, how would she react? Would she be able to resist? Unlikely.

The knock at the door shook her out of her obsessive thoughts. She immediately felt herself tense up; realizing he was there, the butterfly automatically took flight in her stomach. She quickly made her way to the door, taking a deep breath, she swung it open. His fist was raised at the door; he had just been getting ready to knock again when she had suddenly opened the door.

"Hey" she greeted him casually, as she turned and walked away from the door, showing him little attention, to keep things from being awkward right off the bat.

"Hey yourself" he said as he came inside and kicked the door shut behind him, making his way to the kitchen with the groceries.

He started unloading the groceries, getting things ready to make dinner. She brought him a glass of wine, which he gratefully accepted. He let his eyes wander all over her body, taking in every inch of her appearance.

"What?" she asked shyly, feeling herself blush with his steady gaze on her body?

"You look good," he said, his eyes finally meeting hers.

She smiled nervously and met his gaze briefly before turning her eyes away. "As opposed to how I normally look?" she teased.

"No, I mean, you uh..." he stuttered, trying to explain.

"Relax Woody, I was just messing with you" she smiled playfully.

"Yeah, no, I knew that" he smiled.

"So you know I'm a cut to the chase kind of girl, so rather than tip toe around all night, let's just get to it"

He just stared at her, caught completely off guard.

"Jordan, you're kinda screwing up my whole seduction scene I'm working here," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Sorry, but I figure, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner things can be normal between us" she explained.

"You think it's gonna be that easy?" he asked.

"Why shouldn't it be? She asked tensing up as he walked towards her. She backed as far away as she could but found that she had been backed right into the kitchen counter and had no escape route.

He put an arm on either side of her waist against the counter, trapping her between his body and the counter.

"I don't want things to go back to normal between us, in fact, I want things to be completely different" he said brushing his cheek against hers as he spoke into her ear, making her whole body tingle.

"Different how?" she managed to squeak out.

He pulled back to look at her, their eyes met and he slowly moved in for a kiss, she made no attempt to stop him as their lips met in a soft kiss.

"Like that" he answered brushing his hand across her cheek.


	4. Waiting

She smiled coyly after he had kissed her, he immediately returned to making dinner, trying to be cool about the fact that they had just kissed, rather than making a big deal about it, knowing that would probably freak her out and end the evening early. That was something he was desperately trying to avoid. Nothing big had to happen between them, he wasn't expecting any declarations of love or for them to have sex or anything but he wanted to make some headway in the right direction.

She helped him make dinner and they had a good time, laughing and talking about everyday stuff, everything was surprisingly comfortable.

"So I want to be with you" Jordan blurted out after dinner, they were just sitting on the couch talking and watching TV. Woody just looked at her for a long moment, completely surprised by her statement and wondering if he wasn't hearing things.

She just stared back at him in the uncomfortable silence since her admission. "If you don't want to be with me, just say it, I'm a big girl, I can handle the rejection" she began to ramble.

He didn't say anything, he just leaned over and kissed her tenderly to shut her up. "Of course I want to be with you Jordan, how could you possibly think I wouldn't?"

"Oh, I don't know Woody, maybe because of our ridiculously long history of near misses and all the crap we've been through, most of which I am solely responsible for..." she said beginning to ramble again.

"Jordan"

"What?" she asked looking at him.

"Shut up" he said kissing her again.

She gently pushed him away "Look here buddy, if we're gonna do this, I feel I should tell you if you ever say shut up to me again, I'm going to kick your ass" she smiled.

"Fair enough" he said and kissed her again, this time pulling her closer so that she was in his arms and lying comfortably on top of him on the couch.

They couldn't seem to stop kissing; they were fascinated with each other's mouth. Finally Woody pulled away "We're gonna have to stop this or I wont be able to" he said half sitting up.

"So? We don't have to stop" she asked and leaned in to kiss him again but he pulled away.

"Jordan" he warned.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"We cant, not tonight, I think we need to go slow"

"Uh! Here we go with the rules again, Woody, it's been like 3 years, how much slower can we go?"

"Can you honestly tell me you wont run away if we make love tonight?" he asked.

She hesitated.

"There's nothing wrong with waiting, taking things slow, I'm not rejecting you by any means, trust me, I want this like you wouldn't believe"

She couldn't help but laugh at his last statement. He laughed too.

"You think that's funny huh? You're telling me you don't want it?" he teased, slowly licking a trail below her ear that he knew would make her tingle.

"Alright point taken, do you think you can control yourself if you stay here tonight?"

"What's that? Jordan Cavanaugh is actually inviting a man to stay the night with her with no sex involved?" he joked.

"No, not a man Woody, you" she smirked.

He narrowed his eyes at her and prepared to pounce. She saw this and made an attempt to get away, she ran towards her bedroom but he caught her around the waist and tackled her onto the bed. He pinned her underneath his weight and leaned down and kissed her but he could tell this was exciting them both so he attacked her by tickling her.

"Ahhhhhh! Oh God Woody, stop!" she yelled between fits of laughter.

"That's not what a man wants to hear" he teased and continued his tickle assault. He finally gave up and rolled over onto the bed beside her. "You gonna be okay if I hold you tonight? I'm a cuddler," he admitted.

"That could be nice," she answered somewhat nervously. She had never spent the night with anyone; she was more of a get out before the morning kind of girl.

He stood up and took his shirt off so that he was just wearing his undershirt, Jordan was silently thanking God that he was wearing one, if she spent the night cuddled up next to his bare chest, they might not be waiting for anything.

"You gonna change?" he asked, knowing she was waiting to see what else he was planning to take off.

"I sleep buck naked, I like the feel of the sheets against my skin, should I undress right here or go into the bathroom? I don't really see the point though," she said seriously.

She watched him swallow hard, trying to control himself.

She burst out laughing, "I'm just kidding, I'll go change," she said grabbing a tank top and girl boxers.

Woody let out a deep breath, thankful that she was messing with him for once, there's no way he would have been able to keep his hands off a naked Jordan right beside him.


	5. Back at work

The next day Jordan walked into work a little cheerier than usual.

"I take it things went well?" Nigel smiled.

She thought about reprimanding him for being all up in her business but then again she had invited him into her business and she was in too good a mood to be mean.

"Actually, things went great" she smiled.

"I'm so happy you two have finally given in and gotten rid of that nagging sexual tension that's been there since you met, so how was it?" Nigel asked curiously.

"Whoa there cowboy, I didn't say we got it on, is that all you think about?"

"Well you said things went well"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean we just hopped into bed, well actually we did but nothing happened"

"I'm so confused" Nigel said walking away.

Later that day Woody walked into the morgue, whistling.

Nigel just watched him and shook his head "You too huh?" he smiled.

"Me too what?" Woody asked confused,

"Jordan's got the same whistle while you work, happy go lucky thing going on, It's bloody annoying, I don't think I like you guys this way" he complained.

"Thanks Nige" Woody said sarcastically.

"No No Woodrow, Im happy for you, don't get me wrong, its about damn time but I'll be even happier when you guys tone it down a little, fall into routine, wont make me want to out your gun to my head" he said slapping him on the shoulder.

"Nige, have I ever told you youre kind of a weird guy?"

"Repeatedly over the years" Nigel smiled proudly.

Woody just shook his head, he didn't think he would ever understand Nigel.

"Jordan in her office?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so" Nigel nodded and walked away.

Woody stood at the door and watched her, she had her headphones on, grooving to the music and singing, she obviously hadn't seen him coming.

After a minute, she could feel someone watching and looked up, she caught sight of Woody and stopped singing mid-verse. She took the headphones off and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey" she greeted him.

"Hey" he smiled back, amused.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"A couple choruses" he smiled.

"Ha Ha" she said rolling her eyes.

He walked over to her and kissed her lips lightly.

He pulled back and looked at her, she was laughing.

"What?" he asked frowning.

"Im sorry, it just seems so weird that that's how youre going to be greeting me from now on"

"Well I don't have to if you don't want me to" he answered, pretending to be mad.

"No, No, I like it" she said grabbing his hand and pulling him back to her, planting another kiss on him.

"Ahem" Garret made his presence known.

"Hey Garrett, whats up?" Jordan asked casually.

"Dr. Macy" Woody greeted him professionally, feeling like he had just been caught kissing his daughter.

"Jordan, I need you in autopsy 1" he said seriously then turned back to them and smiled "Glad to see you guys have worked things out"

They both smiled.

"Okay, I guess I gotta go, see you tonight?" she asked standing up to leave.

"Ofcourse, you want to do dinner?"

"How about dinner and a movie?" she countered.

"Done, you pick" he said knowing she probably had the whole evening planned anyway and he wasn't going to get in the way of her plans.

"Okay see you later" she said kissing him goodbye.

She turned back at the door "Yeah, I could get used to this" she smiled playfully.


	6. A change in plans

Jordan was finishing up autopsy when Lily burst through the double doors, her mouth hanging open and her face ashen.

"What's going on Lil? You look like you've seen a ghost" Jordan smiled.

"Jordan, I need to talk to you, it's important," Lily said seriously.

"What is it? Jordan asked as she started to worry.

"We should sit down," Lily advised.

"Dad?" Jordan asked, her voice shaking a bit.

Lily shook her head in the negative, indicating that this had nothing to do with Max.

"Oh God, Woody?" Jordan asked in disbelief.

Lily nodded yes. "He was shot, I don't know anything about his condition, all I know is he was rushed to Boston General, I can drive you" she offered.

Jordan nodded yes and hurried out of the autopsy room, Lily followed and they were on their way.

Jordan didn't say anything on the way to the hospital, she just sat there staring out the window in complete silence, wringing her hands, she hadn't bothered to change out of the scrubs she was wearing when she found out.

When they got to the hospital, Jordan threw open the car door before Lily could even stop the car, she took off running for the emergency room doors.

"Jordan!" Lily called out to her but there was no stopping her, she'd catch up with her inside, she just hoped she didn't get any bad news before she could get to her.

"Where is he?" She demanded at the Nurses desk. "Woody Hoyt, Detective Woody Hoyt, he was shot, where is he? I have to see him!" Jordan insisted banging her fists on the desk.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to calm down, are you his wife?" the nurse asked.

"No, I'm his girlfriend" she answered.

"Well I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything until we have contacted the family" The nurse informed her.

"I am his family, he doesn't have anyone else, please tell me how he is," she said, tears now flowing freely down her face.

The nurse sighed and looked around. "Okay, he's in surgery, we got him stabilized but there was internal damage to the chest wall that needs to be repaired" she explained.

"Is he going to be alright?" she asked hopefully.

"It looks good," the nurse said, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Jordan" Lily called to her, having finally caught up.

Jordan turned to face her, tears in her eyes and her lip quivering, she managed to squeeze out a little smile. "They think he'll be alright," she said wiping the tears away.

"Good, that's good" Lily said hugging her and stroking her back. "Let's get settled in the lounge and we'll call Garrett and the guys"

A little while later, Garrett, Nigel & Bug showed up. They all hugged Jordan and asked how she was. She insisted she was okay of course. Nigel & Bug decided to go down to the cafeteria and bring her back something to eat and Lily decided to go too so Jordan could have some time with Garrett, he was like her father, big brother and bestest girlfriend all rolled into one and she needed him now.

"So how are you really doing?" He asked wrapping an arm around her should protectively.

She tried to smile but the tears came back into her eyes. "I've never been so scared in my whole life" she said honestly. "Oh God Garrett, if anything ever happened to him..."

"Shhhh, don't even think about it, he's going to be just fine" he assured her, and pulled her closer.

"I know this may sound a little weird coming from me, but I think I need to pray, will you pray with me?"

"Of course" he answered taking her hand as they closed their eyes and prayed silently for Woody to come out of this okay.

A while later, the doctor came out and asked for Jordan. She stood quickly and rushed over to him, "How is he?" she asked terrified.

"He made it through surgery, that was the hard part, we were able to repair the injuries the bullet caused in its path, so with a little physical therapy he should be just fine" he smiled.

"Can I see him?" she asked eagerly.

"He just came out of surgery so he's going to be out for a while" he explained.

"I don't care, I just need to see him," she pleaded.

"Okay, come on, I'll take you to his room" he said leading the way.

He looked so small in that hospital bed with all the tubes hooked into him. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight. The doctor took her arm "It looks worse than it really is, remember he's going to be fine" he said leading her over to Woody's side before turning to leave. "Oh, by the way, he was asking for you when he first got here, made me promise to tell you he loves you more than anything in the world"

She smiled appreciatively. "Thanks Doc"

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the mouth then sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. "I love you too Woody, I love you too"


	7. Taking the long way home

That should have been the way it happened, Jordan thought guiltily to herself as she replayed what would have been the ideal way to handle to situation in her head.

That wasn't what had actually happened though, instead of rushing to the hospital and to Woody when Lily had told her what happened, she did just the opposite.

Jordan was finishing up autopsy when Lily burst through the double doors, her mouth hanging open and her face ashen.

"What's going on Lil? You look like you've seen a ghost" Jordan smiled.

"Jordan, I need to talk to you, it's important," Lily said seriously.

"What is it? Jordan asked as she started to worry.

"We should sit down," Lily advised.

"Dad?" Jordan asked, her voice shaking a bit.

Lily shook her head in the negative, indicating that this had nothing to do with Max.

"Oh God, Woody?" Jordan asked in disbelief.

Lily nodded yes. "He was shot, I don't know anything about his condition, all I know is he was rushed to Boston General, I can drive you" she offered.

Jordan couldn't answer, her whole body had gone numb at Lily's news. She tore off her latex gloves and rushed out of the autopsy room. Lily followed behind her but Jordan wouldn't slow up or respond so she let her be, figuring she was going to drive like a bat out of hell to get to the hospital and she would meet up with her there.

Jordan didn't even stop to change or grab a coat, she walked out into the freezing Boston winter air in just her short-sleeved scrubs but she didn't notice the cold. She climbed into her explorer and drove, it was her intention to drive to the hospital but her body wouldn't command her hands to steer her in that direction, instead she was driving away from the hospital, away from Boston altogether.

She felt tears begin to trickle down her cheeks as she drove on, the reality of what had happened finally sinking in, Woody had been shot, he was in the hospital right now fighting for his life but she wasn't there with him, she was running again. She figured no one would really be surprised; this was her thing, what she always did when the going got rough. They would probably be disappointed, hell she was disappointed in herself enough for everybody, well everyone except Woody, he would be the most hurt…Woody

She suddenly slammed on the brakes with the thought of him. "Woody" she whispered to herself. She looked out at the road ahead of her "What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself, slamming her hands against the steering wheel in anger. She sped off, quickly making a U-turn and racing in the direction she had just come from, the tears now flowing freely from worry.

She had entered the hospital and frantically asked for him, where was he? How was he? She had been told he was in surgery. She was met by all their friends, staring at her with knowing eyes; they didn't have to wonder why she was the last to get there.

"I'm sorry" she managed to mumble through her tears.

They all came over to hug her and comfort her, no one would blame her. "You're here now" Garrett said wiping her tears away, "That's all that matters" he assured her.

She looked around at all her friends waiting with her and smiled, suddenly thankful for all the people in her life, she wondered if everyone was lucky enough to have what she did.

She looked up and noticed the doctor in front of her, he told her Woody was going to be just fine, she asked to see him and he agreed, leading the way to his room.

He looked so small in that hospital bed with all the tubes hooked into him. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight. The doctor took her arm "It looks worse than it really is, remember he's going to be fine" he said leading her over to Woody's side before turning to leave. "Oh, by the way, he was asking for you when he first got here, made me promise to tell you he loves you more than anything in the world"

She smiled appreciatively. "Thanks Doc"

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the mouth then sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. "I love you too Woody, I love you too"

She sat with him for hours, holding his hand and talking to him, just about everyday things, like nothing had happened at all.

She saw his eyelids flutter in an attempt to open and she felt her body tense in excitement.

He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the offending light, he saw his eyes open wide and could tell he didn't know where he was and was getting panicked. She squeezed his hand, "Hey, it's okay, you're okay now" she assured him, as she wiped a few stray tears out of her own eyes. He frowned, knowing she was upset because of him. He tried to open his mouth to say something but the tube was still in his throat to help him breathe.

"Shhh, don't talk, I'll get the doctor" she said and turned to go but he caught her arm and looked at her pleadingly, not wanting her to go. She smiled back at him and sat back down next to his bed "Okay, I'm not going anywhere" she said and pressed the call button on his bed to summon the doctor.

A minute later the doctor and a nurse entered the room to check on him.

"Hello Detective, I'm Doctor Jones, it's nice to finally meet you" he smiled, Woody managed to smile back a little. "You gave us a little scare, particularly this one, he said touching Jordan's shoulder, Woody stared at her, his eyes filled with tears. "You're going to be just fine now, what do you say we get that tube out of your throat?" he asked. Woody nodded eagerly, Jordan laughed.

The doctor removed the tube and asked Woody some questions and checked his vitals. He told him he'd probably have to stay in the hospital a few days and he would be back to check the incision later.

They were finally alone, Woody looked at her and smiled "Hi". "Hi yourself" she said laughing at his attempt to lighten the mood. "You had me really scared you know?" she said seriously.

"I'm sorry," he said looking away. She put her hand under his chin and directed his face back to look at her. "You know why?" she asked. He looked at her, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Because I love you," she admitted. He smiled from ear to ear, his eyes glassy with emotion. He swallowed hard, "I love you too" She smiled back at him "Yeah I know, the doctor told me" "Well I'm sorry you didn't hear it from me first but I just wanted you to know in case.." he stopped his sentence there, not wanting either of them to think about what could have happened. She nodded in understanding.

"I'm glad you're here," he said squeezing her hand. She looked away guiltily. "I almost wasn't, it took me a while to get here," she admitted sadly. He saw her expression and understood.

"You're here now, that's all that matters," he told her.

She smiled, remembering Garrett had said the same thing earlier, she felt truly lucky they were all so understanding.

"Yeah I'm here, and I always will be" she vowed.


End file.
